Personal Training in QLD

Personal Training in New Zealand

Understand Carbohydrates Part 3*

Friday, 18 March 2016, By Leo Nannetti

Calories in calories out is still the most widely accepted
hypothesis on how we gain or lose weight. This is definitely the
case, there is no doubt that if an individual eats 2,000 calories
per day and burns 2,500 he or she will lose weight. However this
logic is the same as buying with a credit card, you are spending
money you don't have; eventually the money or weight will go back
on. So the question arises, if sustained weight loss is not about
constantly monitoring the amount of calories we ingest versus the
amount of calories we expend then what should we be monitoring to
remain lean strong and healthy?

There are many factors known and unknown that affect our bodies
composition. The one we will focus on in this article is the most
common known factor in weight gain, the relationship between
insulin and carbohydrates. Gary Taubes proposed an alternative
hypothesis to the calories in vs calories out in his book "why we
get fat" stating that carbohydrates drive insulin which drives fat
gain. This article will explain the role of insulin and how it
interacts with carbohydrates to make us gain weight.

Insulin plays many roles in the body, however the one we will
focus on today is its role in removing glucose from the blood
stream and transporting it to either the muscle & liver (Carb
Tank) or the fat cells. When we eat carbohydrates they are broken
down in the stomach into the simplest form of sugar known as
glucose. The glucose is then absorbed through the digestive system
into the blood stream where it is picked up by insulin and taken to
the liver. How rapidly the glucose or carbohydrates is absorbed
into the blood determines how much insulin is released. When we eat
processed carbohydrates such as refined sugars in sweets, sugary
drinks as well as refined grains found in bread, pasta and white
rice the carbohydrates pass through the digestive system and are
absorbed by the blood very quickly causing an inundation of glucose
in the blood. To rid all this glucose from the blood the pancreas
must release high amounts of insulin to transport all the glucose
to the liver for processing. Whenever insulin is secreted the body
goes into storage mode, it knows that it's time to put energy in
the tank and save it. Whilst insulin is up fat burning cannot
occur. This means that if our aim is to lose body fat we need to
rid the blood of insulin as fast as possible. The best way to do
this is by reducing the amount of insulin secreted in the first
place. It's easier to get 10 people out of your house party then it
is to get 50 people out so that you can clean up and go to sleep
(back to burning fat). So if eating carbohydrates causes blood
glucose to go up which causes insulin to increase which stops fat
burning then shouldn't we just stop eating carbs? Some extreme
paleo diets suggest just that, however the body does not always
work how we would expect it to. If we avoid carbohydrates
completely our blood sugar will drop which for anyone who has
experienced a massive bout of exercise followed by a faint zombie
like feeling knows is less than productive. To combat this low
blood sugar the body releases another hormone called cortisol which
pulls sugar out of the muscle and liver (carb tank) to raise our
blood sugar to a safe level (more on this in a later article)
elevated cortisol causes us to become stressed and will also cause
elevated blood sugar and in turn elevated insulin so we end up back
at square one. So what is the answer? Good quality high fibre
carbohydrates from vegetables, legumes, whole grains and moderate
amounts of fruit (refer to part 2 for more information).

Understanding that the types of carbohydrates we eat play more
of a role on whether or not we gain fat then the overall quantity
is the most important lesson we can learn to get lean. Entire
cultures were built around their high carbohydrate meals, Italians
with pasta, Japanese with rice and Chinese with noodles. However
along the way we began to indulge too much in these carbohydrates
and forgot about the need for exercise that is supposed to burn off
that energy. Nowadays we all continue to eat these high carb dishes
but are not bringing off that energy due to our vastly sedentary
lifestyles. If you are determined to lose body fat I would strongly
suggest taking all of your carbohydrates from vegetables, legumes
and moderate amounts of whole grains and fruits until you reach
your desired composition when you can then re-introduce these
dishes sparingly.